This invention relates to pipe hanger insulation, and particularly to a unitary, clamshell, pipe insulating and shield assembly for fluid conducting pipes.
Piping conduit as for chemical processing plants is frequently insulated over the length thereof to maintain temperature conditions, typically elevated, of the fluid being conducted These conduits are normally suspended from a series of spaced clevis hangers shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,146,203 to the inventor herein. At each hanger is an insulation assembly, typically cylindrical, around which the hanger extends. Common materials used for making components of these insulation assemblies are calcium silicate, foam polymer, cellular or fibrous glass.
During installation of the system, workmen who suspend the piping typically install the lower, generally semicylindrical block beneath the pipe when installing the hanger. The upper part is left to insulation installing workmen who subsequently install insulation jackets over the length of the pipe between the hangers. Insulation installers dislike the task of inserting the upper block and completing assembly of the hanger arrangement since it is difficult to get the various components properly assembled with each other while the pipe is suspended. Consequently, less than a desirable job is too often performed.
Another fairly common, undesirable occurrence is the tendency for the hanger to slip off the end of the installed lower insulation block. If a weather resistant shield is applied, it tends to work out of place in the hanger.
Moreover, during the interval between insertion of the lower block and the subsequent time when the insulation installer completes the assembly, the lower block is exposed to the weather which damages and/or negates the function of the insulation material. Sometimes a sheet of plastic is wrapped around the lower block in efforts to protect it, but this makes subsequent insertion of the remaining components even more cumbersome
All of these factors detract from proper insulation and/or suspension of the pipe.